8.19.2011

The Touch

Chandra Singleton has spent her life trying to avoid touching anyone's hands. When she does the results can be crippling as she sees what the future has in store for them.

Until the tall, dark, and sexy Wade Branson takes her hand and she sees herself with Wade in erotic episode after erotic episode. A total stranger who is meant to be in her bed.

But there's danger in her vision, too. Both of their lives may be at stake-as well as Chandra's heart.

Wade and Chandra meet at an artists' market where he outbids her for a painting of an Arizona sunrise. The jerk. But Wade doesn't want the painting. He wants the microchip stuck to the back corner of it. The same microchip that Chandra stumbled upon only moments earlier and stuck in her pocket.

Unbeknownst to each other, Wade and Chandra both have a gift. Chandra has the Touch, where she can see the future of a person just by touching them with her hands. Wade has the Shadow. He can shift and become one with the shadows, any shape or size.

This book has the basics: sex, secrets, and betrayal. What made it above average, for me, was the cruelty of the villain-that was one heartless son of a bastard-and the openness of the characters to accepting fate and the future was a nice surprise.

I did, too, have a huge appreciation for the scenes where Wade and Chandra are busy getting it on when the house suddenly gets shot up, they get barricaded in the attic, and ultimately proceed to pick up right where they left off once they get a moment of peace. The smut could have been hotter, but... satisfied nonetheless. 3 out of 5 stars.